AI machine sorts clothes faster than humans to boost textile recycling
in China
[April 02, 2026] By
TIAN MACLEOD JI
ZHANGJIAGANG, China (AP) — In an industrial park in Zhangjiagang, a
small city on China's east coast, a large humming and hissing machine
feeds on piles of used clothes and sorts them.
The novelty? It uses artificial intelligence to sort them by composition
at high speed, offering a glimpse into how AI could play a role in
reducing the impact of synthetic textile waste.
The Fastsort-Textile machine, named one of Time magazine's Best
Inventions of 2025, was created by DataBeyond, a Chinese AI recycling
company founded in 2018.
“We can make full use of textile waste and reduce the amount that is
incinerated which will be a great help to recycling resources,”
DataBeyond CEO Mo Zhuoya said.
Synthetic textiles are derived from fossil fuels and are a low-cost,
popular option for fashion production. Altogether they account for
around 70% of global textile production, according to a report from
Amsterdam-based nonprofit Circle Economy, which analyzes ways to reduce
textile waste.
Textile waste is a major global pollutant, with China as the leading
contributor. China led global textile exports at $142 billion, more than
double that of the European Union, according to the World Trade
Organization’s 2025 Key Insights and Trends report.
Fastsort-Textile is being used only in one location in China:
Shanhesheng Environmental Technology Ltd., a textile recycling facility
in Zhangjiagang that installed the machine in 2025.
The equipment uses an AI scanner to read the composition of such
textiles and sorts them by fibers, after which they can be recycled.
Fastsort-Textile sorts through 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of clothes in
two to three minutes , compared to around four hours for one worker to
do the same thing. The machine can process two tons per hour, while two
people would need two days and at reduced accuracy, according to
analysis by Shanhesheng.
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Databeyond's Fastsort-Textile AI sorting machine process synthetic
textile at high speed at a textile sorting facility in Zhangjiagang
in eastern China's Jiangsu province on March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng
Han Guan)
 The AI scanner measuring 5-by-2
meters (16-by-6.5 feet) works with a series of conveyer belts.
Workers load stacks of textiles onto belts that move them through
the scanner, which emits a sharp hiss while reading the textiles’
composition. A live video feed displays the reading on the scanner's
side.
It takes less than one second to accurately read one item’s material
composition, which is set according to customers’ desired
benchmarks.
After the scanning process, the textiles are transported to nylon
and polyester sorting areas for recycling. Items below the benchmark
are sorted into a different area mainly for incineration or
landfill, which is where textile pollution wreaks its most damage.
“This sort of thing saves money on labor costs, it saves time. When
people sort materials, they can’t tell accurately if it’s 80 or 90%
polyester. This machine rarely makes mistakes,” Shanhesheng Sales
Manager Cui Peng said.
Previously, up to 50% of the processed textiles were deemed
unrecyclable and sent to landfills or incinerated. That number is
down to 30% with the Fastsort-Textile machine, Sales Director Li Bin
said.
“Now, though machines are already capable of sorting, people’s
energy is limited,” he said. “People can’t work for 24 hours
straight, so robots may take over the roles in the end. The ultimate
goal is a ‘dark factory’ with the robots running 24 hours.”
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